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Stop What You’re Doing and Put On Your Transient Lenses
In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Paul wrote, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
If something is “transient,” it won’t last or endure. It isn’t permanent. It’s temporary, staying for only a short time.
Your house or apartment? Transient.
Your car? Transient.
Your most sophisticated digital devices? Transient.
Your job? Transient.
Neighbors, neighborhoods, and nations? Transient.
This season of life? Transient.
Singleness and marriage, barrenness and parenthood? Transient.
Health and sickness, riches and poverty? Transient.
Today itself. Transient.
Even your own body. Transient.
Which means, if you spend all of today’s time and energy in devotion to the things that are seen, you’re neglecting the things that will truly last. It’s the unseen things–your Creator, your Savior, your spirit and the spirits of others–that are eternal. Because they are eternal, they deserve and demand the best–the firstfruits–of our time, energy, and devotion.
Which means, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 contains vitally important input for your day. Do you want to avoid losing heart? Do you want to keep present afflictions in their proper perspective? Do you want to keep your mind set on the glory made available by Jesus? If so, you must deliberately work to recognize transient things as transient so that you are free to give real attention, energy, and devotion to the things which are eternal.
